The Eye of A Changeling Episode Two
by Lt. Barnes
Summary: Three years after Nightmare Moon’s return. Equestria is evolvling. Friendship is being laid upon the land, but also being broken apart. What are you ready to sacrifice when the world you once knew is being threatened.
1. chapter 1

It's been almost three years, Samuel being trained by Princess Luna herself. During these years he learned to fly and use magic. Even with the awkward inability to feed, he gained the trust of his queen and the rest of the hive. Within a month of his unknown training with Luna, his queen promoted him to a squad leader. Within a year, all the way up to siege officer, then even to siege commander, earning him the rank of First Lieutenant.

Within the trust of his hive, he started thinking. Thinking about protection. There was nothing really to protect against magic, but Equestria was technologically developing. They will need technology too. He spent time observing his surroundings for useful metals, materials, and with those came practical necessities.

In time, he had created a metallic alloy, capable of severe strain and punishment, but still worthy of use afterwards. Along with its protective ability, it was light, surprisingly light. He took advantage of this making full body armor sets of different variations for different uses. His favorite, the one he considered the assault armor. Larger plates for bigger vital parts of the body, and small interlocking plates for the joints, allow for almost complete protection and even still, high mobility.

He had even out of pure respect made a special armor set for his queen, Lia. This earned him gratitude and a friend. After this he offered the same to Luna, but she declined saying the others would be suspicious.

It was today. The day he field tested his armor. Him and the rest of his squad were to infiltrate a small town and return with love for the hive. Aprox. twenty ponies were necessary with his smaller sized hive, compared to most others. The armor was tested almost immediately when one of the recruits in his squad tripped into a hole. She climbed out saying she almost felt nothing. He smiled. So far it was going almost according to plan. The armor giving it a plus one.


	2. The Eye of A Changeling Episode Two

"Pick at random, but no parents, pregnants, or children. Understood?", I told my squad. "Sedate and extract. That's what we're here for". Doing this every month, it's become a sort of celebration, or party every time we do it. As soon as it's midnight, we go in, grab the ponies, feed the hive, and return the ponies to their houses before morning. "Twelve thirty eight. Spread out." We split up and went to work. I took a northeastern route. Going up to windows and looking for ponies who lived alone, I found a stallion that was probably in his twenties. I cast a spell to let me walk through walls, entered the house and released the spell. Quietly walking over to him, I noticed he had a helmet that was very similar to the kind my hive manufactured set on his nightstand. I picked up the helmet and looked inside it. There was a faint turquoise stain. I glared at the sleeping stallion. "Damn you trophy hunters", I whispered. I looked down at the helmet in my hooves. This was a scout helmet, but the muzzle plate was missing. Probably broke when he killed my scout, I thought. I looked around for the weapon and saw a sheathed short sword. I cast a spell that caused the sword to crumble into rust powder inside the sheath. Turning the helmet towards me and resting the brow of it on my forehead, I stood there for a few moments. My eyes closed, in respect for my fallen friend. I didn't bring my own helmet this time, so I put it on. I then cast a spell to fully sedate the stallion before walking over to the bed a picking him up. I carried him out the front door and closed it quickly behind me. I teleported the stallion and myself to the rendezvous point and set him down. The female that fell into the hole was the next to arrive. She dropped a middle aged male unicorn on the ground then noticed the helmet on my head. She looked at me with worry. I relaxed and nodded. No verbal communication was needed for she lightly bowed with her eyes closed. By the time the other nineteen members showed up, it was almost one thirty. Time was of the essence. I gestured for the squad to teleport to the hive.

I waited for the rest of the group to leave before I did. Unfortunately, just before I cast the teleportation spell, I saw a flash of dark red in my left peripheral vision. I drew my knife just in time to block a sword from piercing my skull. A bloodling! Damnit, I thought they lived in the northern part of the Everfree? What's one doing all the way down here? The attacker came after me again, but with a slash attack. I easily skimmed the blade with the armor on my left front leg before stabbing the attacker's shoulder causing them to drop the sword. I twisted around them and held them in a headlock with my knife at their throat. The transparent red blood slowly dripped from the wound. "Explain yourself!", I yelled.

A raspy voice replied, "We're all gonna die soon. Might as well speed up the process"

"What does that mean?!"

"Shit, man. I don't know. I was sound asleep when this voice told me to kill some 'ling named Barnes or whatever. And if I didn't succeed, I would be slowly killed, but if i did it would be quick and painless. So if I'm gonna die, I'd rather not feel it."

"I'll give you a choice. You stay in a cell until we figure out what's going on, or I can painlessly kill you now", I told him.

"Just do it now. I don't want that voice coming after me", he responded.

"Are you sure?", I asked him.

"Yes"

I stabbed the knife into his skull right before twisting his neck causing a dull cacking sound easily audible in the silence of night.


	3. Chapter 3

I walked through the trees not looking for anything. It was almost noon. The expanse of the Everfree was good relief of the stress of being a commander of the hive. Not looking at the "pretty sights and animals", but just walking. Walking without thinking. A soldier's best weapon is a clear mind. That doesn't mean clear thinking, it means literally without a thought in your mind. Only think when you have to. Or at least try. I looked up and saw a small pond a few hundred feet ahead. When did this place have water sources other than the river? I walked up to the pond an looked at my reflection. Glossy aqua eyes, dark gray exoskeleton, see transparent cyan wings. Just like any other changeling. A timber wolf stared at me from across the pond. I snapped my head up and stared back. Seconds passed. Almost a minute. The wolf then growled and walked away. You attack me, you're the one who's gonna be prey. I decided I've had enough and started walking back to the hive.

As soon as got to the entrance, a messenger ran up to me, "Sir, Princess Luna requested to meet with you, she says it's urgent!"

"Tell her I'll be there in five minutes"

I ran to the barracks, donned my armor and knife, and ran to the meeting location.

"Barnes, I have located a large group of rogue changelings that have been attacking Canterlot lately. They seem to have set up a camp somewhere near the base of the mountain. I need to to clear them out before they attack again"

"It will take some time for me to get my team that far, but we should be able to get it done by tomorrow morning."

"Thank you"

"Easily"

Walking along the dry almost desert-like ground between Dodge City and Appleloosa, my assault team came up behind three travelers who were walking a similar route. Two of them were earth ponies and the other was a unicorn. When they noticed us, they looked over and froze with fear. I made eye contact with the unicorn and she teleported leaving the two earth ponies behind. I tossed a bit to one of the earth ponies and kept walking.

By the time we reached the northern edge of the Everfree, it was almost night. "Double time! Let's move it!" We picked up the pace and continued on. We reached the base of the mountain at midnight and began our search. We eventually found the changelings inside a cavern on the NorthEastern side of the mountain. I told the rest of my team to wait outside and walked in. They looked up at me and a few of them hissed. I gave them a look of mock pity. "I will give you three choices, join our hive, leave this area at once, or fight and die"

"And what makes you think we'll choose any of those options?", one of them replied.

"Because it's the only three you have right now". I tapped my hoove on the stone three times. This was a signal for the other to go invisible and fall in formation behind me. I heard the soft padding of the others joining me.

"There's only one of you", the others stood up revealing fourteen of them, "And fourteen of us"

"Weren't you ever taught that looks can be deceiving?". I tapped my hoove two more times. My team of thirty well armored changelings revealed themselves standing behind me.


End file.
